Library question - audio books to ipod

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Alex

(for this reason one library I worked at didn't prevent a patron that came in an photocopied an entire textbook but they could not use our for-fee retrieval-and-copy service for that purpose).

Isn't it considered legal to photocopy X number of pages for research purposes? Or are laws being broken at colleges all across the country?

Or should I say "were being broken" as I wonder how much of this practice still exists in the age of the interwebs.

[Prudence]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Isn't it considered legal to photocopy X number of pages for research purposes? Or are laws being broken at colleges all across the country?

"Fair use" exists as a defense to claims of copyright infringement, but there's no absolute definition of "fair use". It's not just about how many pages you copy. There are a whole bunch of factors that go into assessing fair use, and it's basically done on a case-by-case basis.

And it's not that "fair use" is a legal right - it's a defense.